Adivasi (, ) is an umbrella term for a heterogeneous set of ethnic and tribal groups considered the
aboriginal population of
South Asia. Adivasi make up 8.6% of
India's population or 104 million according to the
2011 census and a large percentage of
Nepalese population. They comprise a substantial
indigenous minority of the population of India and Nepal. The same term Adivasi is used for the ethnic minorities of
Bangladesh, the native
Tharu people of
Nepal and also to the native
Vedda people of
Sri Lanka . The word is also used in the same sense in
Nepal, as is another word,
janajati (; ), although the political context differed historically under the
Shah and
Rana dynasties. Adivasi societies are particularly present in
Andhra Pradesh,
Bihar,
Chhattisgarh,
Gujarat,
Jharkhand,
Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra,
Odisha,
Rajasthan,
Tamil Nadu,
West Bengal and some north-eastern states, and the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Many smaller tribal groups are quite sensitive to ecological degradation caused by modernisation. Both commercial forestry and intensive agriculture have proved destructive to the forests that had endured
swidden agriculture for many centuries. Adivasis in central part of India have been victims of the
Naxalite insurgency and the
Salwa Judum campaign by the Government.